Carlise Castle
 Castles |
There is ample evidence that the Romans occupied the present site of Carlisle Castle in some strength during the early centuries AD. Their original fort developed into a sizeable settlement called Lugovallium, where a Roman fountain was still in evidence when St Cuthbert journeyed there in AD686. The town and fort were destroyed by Danish raiders in the 9th century and for the next two hundred years remained in a ruined state under Scottish control. This all changed after the Norman invasion and in 1092 William II led an expedition northward to crush the marauding bands of Scots who were raiding into Cumbria. This was the year that William Rufus established a castle at Carlisle, most probably wooden built, together with English rule.
For the next seven centuries Carlisle was a focus of Anglo-Scottish rivalry, a situation not wholly surprising as it lies less than ten miles from the Scottish border. These seven hundred years comprise a history of violent feuding, attack and counter-attack, devastation and much bloodshed on both sides. King David II of Scotland captured the castle in 1135, and eventually died there, but later in the century Henry II regained it for England. From the time of its recapture in 1157, Carlisle Castle has remained more-or-less in English hands, despite short lapses when the Scots temporarily took possession during the Civil War and the later Jacobite Uprising. English control, however, was rarely a peaceful one, and Carlisle's history of conflict meant that the castle underwent frequent physical changes.
The 12th century keep, fat and square in appearance, is the oldest and most impressive structure in the castle complex. Situated at the north-east corner of the inner bailey it was the first stone building on the site. Construction of the keep was begun in 1120 by Henry I, but completed by the Scottish king, David I, who took control of the north of England during King Stephen's precarious reign (1135-54) and used the castle as a royal palace. The keep is divided in two by a wall running down the middle, and contains substantial rooms on the three upper floors with access via a spiral staircase in one corner. In one room are remnants of a large 14th century fireplace, while several others contain displays covering the history of the castle. On the first floor level is a room utilised as a dungeon during the Jacobite rising, where the prisoners, suffering from lack of water, used to lick the stones in an attempt to obtain moisture - they are now nicknamed the ‘licking stones'. In a second floor chamber are some extraordinary carvings, thought to have been the work of late 15th century prisoners.
The only other substantial old building is the 14th century gatehouse. Although based on a 12th century tower, most of the present structure dates from 1378-83 when, at the instigation of Richard II the gatehouse was completely restructured. It doubled as both prison and exchequer, but was also home to the Warden of the castle. As such, many of the rooms resemble those of a manor house of the same period; there is a large hall on the first floor, with a kitchen and service area at one end and a private chamber at the other separated by unusual screens.
Apart from the keep, the inner bailey also contains the Captain's Tower (inner gatehouse), a typical 12th century building with stout wooden doors, a portcullis and intriguing ‘murder holes'. The royal apartments, chapel and great hall can be traced by their foundation remains. In the far north-east corner stands the ruined Queen Mary's Tower, which commemorates the visit of Mary, Queen of Scots, who was imprisoned at Carlisle on what proved to be her fatal journey to England in 1568. Lady's Walk was also named after Mary, as this was the area where she used to walk in the sunshine during her days of captivity.
Like Dover Castle, Carlisle's medieval battlements were adapted for artillery in the 16th century at the behest of Henry VIII, and were largely the work of the Moravian engineer Stefan von Haschenperg. The alterations to the keep's battlements and the ‘half-moon' battery in front of the inner gatehouse were both his work. Again, like Dover, the castle remained in military use right into modern times. Although the accession of James VI to the English throne in 1603 brought an end to border raids, the castle was not entirely peaceful thereafter. It was twice besieged in the Civil War of 1642-9, when part of the cathedral was dislodged to repair the castle, and severely battered in 1746 by the troops of Bonnie Prince Charlie when he briefly held the town prior to his appointed fate on Culloden Moor. Despite the damage sustained down the centuries and the resultant patching-up, Carlisle Castle remains an imposing edifice with a shared English-Scottish history inextricably intertwined.